Top 10 coolest networks

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Networks may come across as a dry subject to some but here at IT PRO we have been impressed by the innovative networks popping up around - and indeed beneath - us.

Here's a quick tour through 10 of the more exciting networks we have found, from the sewers to the skies.

Broadband in the sewers

No longer do you need to dig up the roads to provide cities with the broadband both residents and businesses desire, you can now just thread it through the sewers.

The i3 Group has deployed dark fibre networks across - or underneath - a variety of cities so far, including Bournemouth, Sheffield and Dundee, and is now working on plans to connect up Ireland up in this innovative way.

Army connections

Good Wi-Fi networks are needed both home and away - especially on the field of battle.

To help take some of the pressure off its satellite communications system, the Ministry of Defense has installed a Wi-Fi network with the use of RADWIN links. It connects up all the army bases across Afghanistan, aiding communications in a secure and reliable way.

Terrorist-defying network

From the fighting in Afghanistan to the defensive effort at home, it seems networks play a key role.

At London City Airport, NTL:Telewest has put in place a secondary network so should an attack threaten its primary communications source, there is still a back up. The key to it is having a modular data centre separate from Aviation House – its main base for communications – so if the lines get cut there is still a way for staff to keep the outside world in the loop.

Linked up libraries

The British Library may be full of classics, but it recently went modern with the upgrade of its network.

It has an ever increasing amount of digital content, storing 150 million items, including every book or newspaper published in the UK. Using Foundry Networks it linked up its two sites – London and Boston Spa – to cope with the three million new items added each year.

The 2012 network

The biggest sporting event in the world is coming to London and it will need one massive network.

The original contract was given to Nortel, but after the company got into hot water and had to sell off a variety of its assets, Cisco stepped in to take over the role.

It will now be responsible for providing Wide Area Networks (WAN) and wireless Local Area Networks (LAN), as well as call centres and a fixed telephony infrastructure for what the company has claimed will be “the most connected Games ever.”

Speedy broadband part one

You cannot do a list of impressive networks and ignore the high speed trials of broadband happening across the country right now.

BT has invested £1.5 billion into revamping its infrastructure which is now allowing it to trial 40Mbps broadband in selected sites across the country. So far, trials are happening in Muswell Hill, Whitchurch and Glasgow with many more promised in the near future. The speed could rise to 60Mbps if all goes well.

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